


Your Father, Percival

by maxbegone



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: After Vox Machina, F/M, Kidfic, Parent-Child Relationship, Post Vox Machina, Post-Canon, de rolo babies - Freeform, de rolo quarter elves - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-05 00:17:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15158309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maxbegone/pseuds/maxbegone
Summary: Percy writes a letter to each of his children when they are born, as well as one to Vex.





	1. Elaina Johanna

**Author's Note:**

> this was a little something I wrote a few months ago but never got around to editing or posting. until now.
> 
> enjoy the first letter!

 

To preface, Percy wrote to his firstborn just hours after her birth, and rather spontaneously at that. He couldn’t sleep - _wouldn’t_ sleep - fearing that he would miss something. So instead, he wrote to her in the candlelight as a means of expressing his love - and fears - while Vex’ahlia and his daughter slept just steps away.

 

_To Elaina Johanna,_

_Against all odds and despite everything that’s happened in our lifetimes, you’re here. To think mere months ago your mother and I found out we would be parents, and now you are here. I keep expecting to wake up but you’re here and you’re physical and you are the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on. I never thought I was worthy enough of having such a happy life - I believed I was destined for struggle until the day that I died. When I met your mother, things slowly but surely changed for the better. And when we married in a time of peace and secrecy before we reunited with our party, I didn’t believe that I deserved her. Even now, I do not deserve your mother. She is brilliant, she is my voice of reason, my better half, and up until this very moment, the true source of light in my life. I do not hope that for you to one day be as strong and resilient and brave as she is, because I know you will be. Vex’ahlia has lost so much and has gained so much more. But motherhood, I can already tell, suits her flawlessly._

_Elaina Johanna, you were named after both of our mothers; your mother’s mother, Elaina, and my own, Johanna. They may seem like hand-me-down names, but it is your own and you are wholly ours. I never got to meet your grandmother, she passed away long before your mother and I met, but from the stories she has told me, I know that is where she inherited her strength. My own mother died a long time ago, as well, but she was just as strong in her own rite. I believe Cassandra takes after her very much._

_Your mother is asleep. As are you. You’re next to our bed, wrapped up tight in the softest blanket we could find for you. Trinket is fast asleep at the foot of your cradle, so I believe that you have officially gained an unspoken protector. Then again, your mother rescued that bear and they grew together side by side, and throughout her pregnancy he followed her even closer, if that is possible. He’s been by your mother’s side through everything and it appears that he is more than happy to be by yours._

_Our family is odd and very big, but it is the best family there is. We have waited a very long time for your arrival, Elaina. However there is one person who I know would love you to the ends of every plane in existence. A great man, your mother’s twin and your uncle, Vax’ildan. That man, I can assure you, would give you the world and a whole other if you simply asked. I know very well that your mother wishes he was by her side when you were born. As do I. Hopefully as you’ve grown, we have all told you about the ravens and made sure to point out the biggest one in particular._

_Elaina...I never quite knew love like this. I never expected to. Although I am scared, I welcome it and the happiness that will come. You are the very best thing in my life and I will love you until the end of my days and all thereafter._

_Know that I love you dearly._

_Your father,_

_Percival_

  



	2. Percival Fredrickstein IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is chapter two! I appreciate the response I got on the first chapter, and I hope you enjoy the next!

The next letter Percy wrote was to his son the morning after he was born. The birth was near-similar to Elaina's, who was now four. His daughter was asleep next to Vex on his side of the bed, tuckered out from the excitement of a new baby brother, and their son was wide awake but so quite and content in the cradle beside their bed.

 

_To Percival Fredrickstein IV,_

_First, I would very much like to apologize for the atrociously long line of names you have inherited. You are a de Rolo, through and through, and grandiose names there will be. Your mother insisted on the name and if I'm being honest, it just felt right - after a bit of persuading on her end. Please do not hate me for this. However, we have agreed that for your own sake we'd find a nickname best suited for you. Your mother immediately took to calling you Freddy, and it spread through our family like a wildfire._

_It's simple, but it's more sentimental of a name than it seems. Your late uncle used to call me a handful of nicknames, ones that I will not get into at the moment, but "Freddy" was one of them. I won't be surprised if I respond to your name every now and again...It's an endearment of the past that I guess I truly miss._

_Your sister, Elaina, was more excited for your arrival than the rest of us, I believe. For the months since we told her, she had been asking if you were here and ready to play yet. What was truly unexpected, but so heartwarming, was how gentle she was with you. I swear, my heart grew two sizes the moment your mother placed you in her arms. Elaina, normally the energetic little girl who could even tire out Grog, was so careful. She is going to be a wonderful big sister. As I write, she is asleep with your mother, and you, meanwhile, are completely awake but so strangely quiet as you stare at the mobile that hangs above you._

_You cried once, just for a short while as you were born, and if this remains I might have to say you take after me as a child. However, I just hope you do not inherit the anger and fear I had when I grew older. It's been a long, long time since any of that occurred._

_I hope you do not hold back and that your childhood is happier than mine, that you live as unafraid and rambunctious as a child should. Wreck havoc over us with your sister, explore with your mother, and I'll show you some of my favorite books. I never thought I would be this lucky in life; I have your sister, I have your mother, I have our strange family, and now I have you. I am so proud, Freddy, and I hope that I can teach you to be a better man that I ever was._

_Know that I love you dearly._

_Your father,_

_Percival_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> be sure to say hi to me @maxbegone on Tumblr!


	3. Whitney Cassandra and Oliver Ludwig

When Percy and Vex were told their next baby would be their next _babies,_ it was both hilarious and shocking. They arrived like a whirlwind, both screaming and exhausting Vex almost immediately after a long labor. Percy, though shocked, laughed with tears of happiness as he laid in bed beside his wife, his newborn twins between them. 

_To Whitney Cassandra and Oliver Ludwig,_

_What a wonderful_ _surprise you two were, and a welcome one at that. Your mother and I can already tell that the pair of you will be quite the force to be reckoned with. In fact, your mother believes that you will be karma for what she and your uncle put their mother through years ago._

_Your mother is quite amazing, I promise you both. She laughed until she cried when we were told we were having twins. Two of you at once. I was rather speechless, in fact I think I didn't say a word for several moments. I believe I just sat there with an open smile on my face until your mother kissed it off. Speechless, but so incredibly happy! And as it turns out, Scanlan set up a wager very early on about it. In fact, this had been going on since before Elaina was born._

_While the two of you are wrapped up and cradled together, your brother and sister are - hopefully - eating and cooperating with Cassandra. Elaina insisted on helping your mother with the nursery, and whilst Freddy is still rather young, I have never seen him so fascinated by anything before. He stood by your cradles for a long time and just watched you sleep. Thinking about it now, I'm not sure he's ever seen a baby before, let alone a pair of newborns._

_You two were named after my own younger twin siblings, Oliver and Whitney, as well as one of my other siblings, Ludwig, and your aunt, Cassandra. It breaks my heart, truly, that you all never got to meet my family, but Cassandra and I will tell you many stories through the years. There is no legacy for you to live up to, simply whatever you want to make of your lives. I am a better man because of your mother, because of your brother and sister, and because of the two of you. And I know I will grow even more as the years pass._

_Please know that if I am ever exhausted, I still absolutely love you and I am looking forward to you running us wild._

_Know that I love you dearly._

_Your father,_

_Percival_


	4. Vesper Victoria

When their youngest was born, Percy was sure he was going to lose everything. She arrived nearly a month early as Vex ran a high fever. The labor lasted over thirty hours which Percy paced for near half of. The children were confused as to why they couldn't meet their new sibling just yet, and all of Vox Machina were rushed to Whitestone. Truly, all hands were on deck. The following night, Vex and Percy stayed up as healer after healer ran rampant through the castle to make sure the baby's own high fever broke. 

And it finally did.

_To Vesper Victoria,_

_There were few times in my life that I have been truly scared. The day the Briarwoods turned on my family and I was forced to run. When Vox Machina faced a conniving green dragon. The times we faced Vecna. But nothing scared me more than your arrival._ _Dead in the middle of winter, on one of the coldest nights of the year, Vex contracted a fever. Several hours passed and she went into an early labor._

_Pike has done so much for us over the years, but keeping your fever from rising was by far the best thing she's done for any of us. Not one member of our wonderfully strange family masked their worry. Keyleth sat with us for several hours and made a healing draft for your mother and hung flowers on your mobile. Taryon even arrived and sat with her through much of the night. Grog, bless that man for I hope he never ceases to surprise me, took your brothers and sisters into the library and built a fort. I owe this family so much._

_Vesper, it has been fourteen hours and twenty-six minutes since you were born. It has been fourteen hours and twenty-six minutes since you were swept away from us and painstakingly watched over through the night. I was afraid I was going to lose you. I was afraid I was going to lose your mother. I was afraid I was going to fall back into the state I was in when I was a young man. But you are safe, and so very tiny. My darling, you are so beautiful._

_I will always protect you. I have held you for hours and refused to let you go, fearing you would disappear. I feared hours ago I had fallen into a bout of hysteria and you had simply been part of my imagination. But you're so very real, and so very loved._

_Your siblings are yet to meet you - we didn't want them to be afraid. But they will meet you soon, that I can promise you. You are peacefully asleep next to our bed. You've eaten, your fever has subsided, and the healers believe that everything is well. Vex, who has refused to sleep only just managed to moments ago._

_I love your siblings equally, but know that I feel the need to protect you most and keep you safe. You are wholly ours, and the relief that you are healthy and safe is immense. We have been told that you might be weaker, but I have a feeling that you will be stronger than all of us._

_Know that I love you dearly._

_Your father,_

_Percival_


	5. Vex'ahlia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter, the last letter, but certainly not the end of this little bubble. I've come up with a part two of this piece which I hope to get to writing soon.
> 
> Thank you all for your feedback over the past couple of days. It's so appreciated!

And finally, Vex'ahlia. Percy writes to her a few days after Vesper's birth. Amidst the recovery process and making sure their children were not causing too much trouble, he sat down one evening for a few moments to write to his wife, realizing it was something he'd never done. While Percy knew he could write books upon books of letters to her, he proud his heart into yet another confession of love and adoration. A letter to his wife, the strongest woman he knew.

_Vex'ahlia,_

_On a spring night eight years ago, we became parents to our little Elaina. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. An experience I was so sure would never happen to me. I have never seen someone exude that much energy, that much strength despite your obvious exhaustion. For months you carried her, and suddenly there she was in our arms. Do you remember how much we both cried? Do you remember the little noises she would make? Do you remember how much I shook while holding her? I could not believe that she was ours. A little girl, Vex! After everything that we had been through I was so sure I was undeserving of this. I was so sure I was meant to have died in that prison cell you found me in. Our little girl has grown up so fast, and she takes after you quite a bit but I see Vax in her as well. She has his brooding expression that she pulls every so often._

_Eight years, we have been parents for eight years. I find it hard to believe that it has been that long, and since then we have had four other beautiful children._

_Our Freddy was next, our baby boy who inherited all of my names. I remember telling you how unnecessary it was to continue the tradition of passing down my name. But after days of insistence, especially after you said "Freddy," nothing else seemed as fitting. And what quiet young boy he is. Very much like how I was when I was a child, but happier, friendlier, lighter. He's certainly not as stern. I can see him reading some of the toughest books in our library in no time at all._

_He's such a bright young boy, as well. And he's only six. But he's adventurous in his own rite. Do you remember that one afternoon after you and I came back from a council meeting to find Freddy at three years old sitting backwards on Trinket as he pranced around the courtyard? Or the time he climbed the stone wall in the gardens and nearly toppled off. We were right there to catch him, but he definitely knows how to get into trouble. I can't quite figure it out; would that be more of him taking after me or your brother? At the very least, I hope he doesn't inherit my eyesight as well. He's got the name, that's enough._

_And two years after that...Trying for another baby was so hard for us. I watched how truly disconnected you had become. That first year you really shut yourself away. It took so long but you finally opened up to me after our rift. I was scared for us, but truly scared for you. I hated seeing you so broken. But I never stopped loving you for a second. How could I? You are incredible. Beyond incredible._

_And then we started trying, really trying and aching for another baby. We soon learned we were having twins, such a bitter-sweet thing to hear._

_Oliver and Whitney. The two of them wreck havoc among us, just like we knew they would. Your brother would be so sly and so proud. Your mother would be as well, Vex. From all of the stories you've told me, I believe that she watches over you fondly as we raise our children. I see a lot of you and your brother in them, and I understand they're still very young, but the little quirks that they have with each other calls all the attention to it._

_However Oliver seems to be quite infatuated with the flowers that Keyleth planted in the spring. Maybe it's because he helped her, or maybe he just finds them pretty. Lavender, jasmine, daises, and of course snowdrops. Whitney on the other hand...I adore watching her follow Cassandra around, carrying loose papers that were long-discarded just to mimmic her aunt. And I just know Cassandra enjoys it, too._

_They have so much character and they're barely four._

_It has been three days since our Vesper was born. Three days since one of the most terrifying experiences of my entire life. Bypassing Vecna, bypassing the dragons, and not even coming close to the Briarwoods or Ripley._

_I watched you so quickly fall ill throughout the day. You woke up in the morning, a month before she was due, feeling weak and clammy. We went down for breakfast and just before we reached the stairs you collapsed into me. I have never, in my life, been that scared. Healers were rushed in immediately, our family was called to Whitestone. I was so sure I was going to lose you. And to a point, I accepted it because I assumed that I had so much karma to receive from this universe. It turned out to be quite the opposite. A blessing, in fact._

_Vesper is scarily tiny, even though the healers have deemed her fine and well. But her lungs! I wrote to her (I've written to all of our children), and said that she would be the strongest of us all. I'll be damned if she isn't. She's just three days old and that night still feels so current. We sat up all night. We cried and worried until Vesper's fever finally broke. I thought I was going to collapse._

_The children are so careful with her, protective almost. Strange, because I see that as my role. I want to keep Vesper safe - I want to keep all of them safe - and happy for the rest of my days. I believe our children have made me a better man._

_And you, Vex'ahlia. You have done so much in our lives. But more than anything, you've proven to me over and over again how strong you are. You've shown me what it means to be a parent, and you're the best mother a child could ask for. Thank you, I know we'll get though whatever comes into our lives. We've saved the world, who's to say we can't raise a family._

_Vex'ahlia, know that I love you dearly and that you're my voice of reason._

_Your husband,_

_Percival_

**Author's Note:**

> stop by and say hi to me @maxbegone on Tumblr!


End file.
